Instant bank fund transfers

ABSTRACT

Embodiments for instant banking funds transfers include methods and systems for providing financial services. The financial services provided include instant top up of an account with a Financial Service Provider (FSP), instant account verification (using instant deposit confirmation); instant direct debit; and instant withdrawal or funds out. In one or more embodiments, an FSP has an agreement and a cash account with a partner bank; other banks, where users of the financial services have accounts, also have cash accounts with the partner bank. Thus, any transfers can be made within the partner bank and instantaneously. The FSP receives cash during a normal three to five day settlement period with standard bank transfers. Financial services provided may include instant top up of funds (instant credit), instant bank confirmation (using random deposits), instant debit, and instant withdrawal (or funds out).

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods andsystems for facilitating financial transactions and, more particularly,to instant credit transfers, bank account confirmations, and bank fundtransfers.

2. Related Art

The International Standards Organization (ISO) is a worldwide federationof national standards bodies. The ISO International Standard ISO 20022,“Universal Financial Industry Message Scheme”, is intended to providethe financial industry with a common platform for the development ofmessages in a standardized XML (Extensible Markup Language) syntax,using: 1) a modeling methodology (based on UML—Unified ModelingLanguage) to capture in a syntax-independent way financial businessareas, business transactions and associated message flows; and 2) a setof XML design rules to convert the messages described in UML into XMLschemas. This flexible framework allows communities of users and messagedevelopment organizations to define message sets according to aninternationally agreed approach and to migrate to the use of commonXML-based syntax.

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)provides a global banking network (SWIFTNet) system for funds transfersbetween banks that is generally economical for individual users butrequires a few business days, typically three, for the settlement oftransactions, e.g., fund transfers, in which the recipient of funds mayexperience delay in the funds becoming available for use.

Real-time gross settlement systems (RTGS) are funds transfer systemswhere money is moved from one bank to another in “real-time” and on“gross” basis. Settlement in “real time” means the payment transactionis not subjected to any waiting period; the transactions are settled assoon as they are processed. Settlement on “gross” basis means eachtransaction is settled on a one-to-one basis without netting or groupingwith any other transactions. In general, RTGS, typically used bycompanies, organizations, and institutions, is the fastest possible wayto transfer money. Once processed, payments are final and irrevocable,but also requires a significant fee from the user. RTGS systems may varyfrom country to country and is usually maintained and controlled by theCentral Bank of a country. For example, Clearing House AutomatedPayments System (CHAPS) is used in the United Kingdom, while Fedwire isused in the United States. Compared, for example, to SWIFTNet, the RTGSsystem is suited for low-volume, high-value transactions, and thus maybe prohibitively expensive for individual users.

SUMMARY

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, methodsand systems for providing instant financial services include instant topup of an account with a Financial Service Provider (FSP), instantaccount verification (using instant deposit confirmation), instantdirect debit, and instant withdrawal or funds out. In one or moreembodiments, an FSP has an agreement and a cash account with a partnerbank; other banks, where users of the financial services have accounts,also have cash accounts with the partner bank. Thus, any transfers canbe made within the partner bank and instantaneously. The FSP receivescash during a normal three to five day settlement period with standardbank transfers. Financial services provided may include instant top upof funds (instant credit), instant bank confirmation (using randomdeposits), instant debit, and instant withdrawal (or funds out).

In one or more embodiments, a system includes: a first cash accountmanaged by a computer at a partner bank of a financial service provider(FSP) and owned by the FSP; a second cash account managed by a computerat the partner bank of the FSP and owned by a financial institutionwhere a user has an account; and an application programming interface(API) for communication of financial transactions between the partnerbank of the FSP and the financial institution where the user has anaccount so that a financial service is provided instantly to the uservia the API and use of internal funds transfers between the first cashaccount and the second cash account at the partner bank.

In another embodiment, a method includes: maintaining a first cashaccount, owned by a financial service provider (FSP), at a partner bank;maintaining a second cash account, owned by a financial institutionwhere a user has an account, at the partner bank; invoking anapplication programming interface (API) for communication of financialtransactions between the partner bank of the FSP and the financialinstitution where the user has an account; and providing an instantfinancial service to the user via the API and use of internal fundstransfers between the first cash account and the second cash account atthe partner bank.

In a further embodiment, a computer program product comprises a computerreadable medium having computer readable and executable code forinstructing a processor to perform a method that includes: maintaining afirst cash account, owned by a financial service provider (FSP), at apartner bank; maintaining a second cash account, owned by a financialinstitution where a user has an account, at the partner bank; invokingan application programming interface (API) for communication offinancial transactions between the partner bank of the FSP and thefinancial institution where the user has an account; and providing aninstant financial service to the user via the API and use of internalfunds transfers between the first cash account and the second cashaccount at the partner bank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating a system for financialtransactions in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating a transaction in a system forfinancial transactions in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram illustrating operation of a system forfinancial transactions in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for instant top-up in asystem for financial transactions in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for instant accountverification in a system for financial transactions in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for instant direct debit ina system for financial transactions in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for instant withdrawal (orfunds out) in a system for financial transactions in accordance with anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to providing a globalnetwork for instant transfer of funds between financial institutions(for brevity “bank” has been used for the more general term “financialinstitution” in the illustrative examples that follow, but no limitationof financial institutions only to banks is intended unless specificallystated) that enables several services to be provided by a financialservice provider (FSP) to a user, who may perceive the services as beingprovided by the service provider or other financial institutions such asbanks. The services may include, for example, instant top-up, instantaccount confirmation, instant direct debit, and instant funds out (orwithdrawal). The services may be built on or may exploit the use ofimmediate, or “real-time”, funds transfers provided by the globalnetwork for instant transfer of funds that may be enabled by the FSP.“Instant” means the payment transaction is not subjected to any waitingperiod; the transactions are settled as soon as they are processed,comparable to real-time settlement systems such as RTGS. Transfers maytake place, for example, between banks regardless of whether the banksare in the same country or different countries. Transactions conductedusing the instant global funds transfer network according to one or moreembodiments may be more economical for use by individuals than RTGSsystems yet provide faster settlement than transactions that clearthrough SWIFTNet.

For example, the RTGS system is suited for low-volume (e.g., less than ahundred per day per institution), high-value (e.g., more than $10,000)transactions. RTGS systems are an alternative to systems of settlingtransactions at the end of the day, also known as net settlementsystems, for example, Automated Clearing House (ACH) or SWIFTNet. In anet settlement system, all the inter-institution transactions during theday are accumulated. At the end of the day, the accounts of theinstitutions are adjusted.

A system according to one or more embodiments may be more convenient forusers than a typical net settlement system. For example, transactionsmay be conducted on-line rather than the user having to walk up to abank counter or teller window; the funds recipient may receive fundsright away so that the user's transaction may be completed more quickly;and errors may be detected and corrected right away instead of takingperhaps as long as a week to correct, as in some conventional systems,during which time neither the user nor the recipient may have use of themoney. For banks or financial institutions, the faster service providedby an embodiment may allow the bank to charge more for the fasterservice than for a conventional net settlement system funds transfer.Also, suitability for low-value funds transfers using an embodiment maylead to wider usage than that of RTGS, increasing volume of business forthe bank providing the faster service.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100, according to one embodiment, forfacilitating financial transactions, e.g., transactions involving moneyin any of its various forms supported by system 100, in which a buyer102 and seller 104 may wish to conduct a transaction 106, which mayinclude sending money from buyer 102 to seller 104. Buyer 102 may beable to use any of several different mechanisms for sending money froman account at a bank (or other financial institution or financialservice provider), for example, of the buyer 102 to seller 104 foraccomplishing transaction 106. For example, buyer 102 may use an eCheck108, an integrated electronic fund transfer (iEFT) 110, or a manualelectronic funds transfer (mEFT) 112 to fund the transaction 106. Notethat buyer and seller are used as an example, as any payer and payee mayuse features herein to effect instant money or fund transfers.

Using eCheck 108, buyer 102 may perform a credit/debit transaction thatis similar to the use of a regular bank check, which is generallyfamiliar to most people Like a regular bank check, an eCheck 108 may besettled using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network and maygenerally take 3 to 5 business days to clear, e.g., to be settled,meaning that the bank account of the recipient, also referred to as“creditor”, e.g., seller 104, has been credited (recipient has full useof the money) and the bank account of the payer, also referred to as“debtor”, e.g., buyer 102, has been debited (payer no longer has use ofthe money). With eCheck 108 the money may be paid to seller 104 from anaccount of buyer 102 by direct debit, which is a method of ACHcollection in which the debtor, e.g., buyer 102, gives authorization todebit the account of buyer 102 upon the receipt of an entry issued bythe creditor, e.g., seller 104.

A financial service provider (FSP) 120, such as PayPal, Inc. of SanJose, Calif., may provide a service (e.g., acting as an intermediarybetween buyer 102 and seller 104) that insulates buyer 102 from seller104 by allowing completion of transaction 106 through the FSP 120 viatransaction 122, between buyer 102 and FSP 120, and transaction 124,between seller 104 and FSP 120, as shown in FIG. 1. For example, FSP 120may provide an eCheck 108 transaction in which buyer 102 sends money toFSP 120, and FSP 120 may then send the money to seller 104 using atransaction 124 between FSP 120 and seller 104 that is agreeable to bothparties. In this way, information need only pass between seller 104 andFSP 120 without seller 104 needing to know any financial informationabout buyer 102. Using this eCheck service, buyer 102 may giveauthorization to debit the account of buyer 102 upon the receipt of anentry issued by the FSP 120. The authorization may be enabled, forexample, by buyer 102 providing the FSP 120 with appropriate informationabout the bank and account of buyer 102.

Because an eCheck may take 3 to 5 business days to clear, thetransactions 122 and 124 may show, respectively, to both buyer 102 andseller 104, as pending until the transactions clear so that seller 104may not wish to ship goods until a few days after buyer 102 has made thepurchase, thus giving the buyer 102 a sense or feeling of delay with aneCheck type of transaction.

Returning to FIG. 1, using iEFT 110, buyer 102 may perform an integratedelectronic fund transfer through the FSP 120. To use the iEFT serviceprovided by FSP 120, buyer 102 may or may not provide the FSP 120 withappropriate information about the bank and account of buyer 102. Usingthis iEFT service, the buyer 102 may initiate the transaction 106 on awebsite of FSP 120 and the buyer 102 may be redirected to an on-linebanking web page of the bank of buyer 102, Bank A. Buyer 102 may log onto Bank A at the on-line banking web page, and Bank A may provide buyer102 the capability to confirm the payment and the amount. Once the buyer102 confirms the payment and amount, the FSP 120 may receive instantpayment verification, e.g., the payment is approved, authorization iscompleted, and it may be guaranteed to FSP 120 to receive paymentwithin, for example, 2 to 3 days. At that time, because the money isdeemed safe, FSP 120 may make immediate payment to the seller 104, e.g.,release the funds or credit the funds to the seller 104. Seller 104 maythen promptly ship the goods, thus giving the buyer 102 a sense orfeeling of instant response with an iEFT type of transaction in contrastto the sense of delay with an eCheck type of transaction.

Referring again to FIG. 1, using mEFT 112, buyer 102 may perform amanual electronic funds transfer through the FSP 120. To use the mEFTservice provided by FSP 120, buyer 102 may or may not provide the FSP120 with appropriate information about the bank and account of buyer102. Using this mEFT service, the buyer 102 may provide FSP 120 withfunds to be kept with FSP 120 in a user account of buyer 102. In effect,funds for the transaction 106 will be prepaid into an account with FSP120 by the buyer 102. The funds may be prepaid, for example, prior tobuyer 102 initiating the transaction 106 by providing some arbitraryamount of funds, enough to cover the amount of transaction 106, into theFSP user account of buyer 102. The funds also, for example, may beprepaid concurrently with and before completion of processing oftransaction 106. In addition, if the FSP is willing to extend credit,for example, to the buyer 102, the funds may also be “prepaid” aftertransaction 106 is completed. Having prepaid, in one form or another,appropriate funds to FSP 120 (e.g., via transaction 122), buyer 102 mayinitiate the transaction 106 on a website of FSP 120. FSP 120 may thensend the money to seller 104 using an appropriate method foraccomplishing transaction 124. In this way, information need only passbetween seller 104 and FSP 120 without seller 104 needing to know anyfinancial information about buyer 102. With mEFT, as with iEFT, becausethe money is deemed safe, FSP 120 may make immediate payment to theseller 104, e.g., release the funds or credit the funds to the seller104, and seller 104 may then promptly ship the goods, thus giving thebuyer 102 a sense or feeling of instant response with an mEFT type oftransaction in contrast to the sense of delay with an eCheck type oftransaction.

Also with the mEFT, buyer 102 may have a sense or feeling of enhancedprivacy or security in that neither a credit card nor bank checking typeof transaction need occur between buyer 102 and FSP 120 for eachtransaction, but only on occasions when the buyer 102 realizes a need toreplenish the FSP user account of buyer 102. For example, buyer 102 mayreplenish the FSP user account of buyer 102 using the bill pay paymentsystem commonly available in U.S. banks. To use the bill pay system,buyer 102 may, for example, log on to the website of Bank A (the bank ofbuyer 102) and specify FSP 120 as a payee for a specified amount usingBank A's bill pay service. The specified amount may then be credited tothe FSP user account of buyer 102 (also referred to as “top-up” offunds) to be ready for use by buyer 102 in conjunction with the mEFTservice of FSP 120.

Returning again to FIG. 1, seller 104 may have several options forreceiving the money sent by buyer 102 in transaction 106 from FSP 120and putting the money into a bank account of seller 104. In one option,the seller 104 may maintain a seller account with FSP 120. Once the FSP120 has provided the money from transaction 106 to the FSP selleraccount of seller 104, seller 104 may then withdraw the money(withdrawal 118) from the FSP seller account and, for example, depositit with the bank of seller 104, Bank B.

FSP 120 may provide financial services that allow instant fundtransfers, e.g., fund transfers in real time—such as those accomplishedby RTGS systems—but adapted to low value transfers—such as thoseaccomplished by SWIFTNet or ACH transfers. The instant fund transfersmay, however, be provided more economically than by RTGS and morequickly than by SWIFTNet. Some of the financial services are illustratedin FIG. 1 as an instant top-up 114, an instant account verification(using withdrawals and confirmation) 115, an instant direct debit 116,and an instant funds out (or withdrawal) 117.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of system 100 for facilitating financialtransactions according to one embodiment. Financial service provider 120may provide system 100 as a bank-to-bank fund transfer network to whichBank A and Bank B belong, enabling instant or real-time transfer oftransaction 106 between Bank A and Bank B. The network of system 100 maybe global, and Bank A and Bank B may be in the same or differentcountries. Transaction 106 may occur from a user (e.g. buyer 102 orultimate debtor) of Bank A and a user (e.g., seller 104 or ultimatecreditor) of Bank B, and in the case that user 104 is identical to user102 it may be understood that user 102 is thus able to transfer moneybetween his or her own accounts at different banks using system 100.

Bank A may offer interbank, instant funds transfers for banks in thenetwork of system 100 as a product through on-line banking. A user(e.g., buyer 102 or ultimate debtor) having an account at Bank A may,for example, log on to an on-line banking web page of Bank A, and choosethe global instant funds transfer service. The buyer 102 may then bepresented, for example, with a drop down list of banks in the network ofsystem 100 to which a transfer can be made. Upon the buyer 102 providingenough information (e.g., transfer amount, destination bank, destinationaccount number, or seller 104 identification), Bank A may invoke anapplication programming interface (API) 151 to accomplish the transfertransaction 106. API 151, as well as APIs 152, 153, and 154, may bepre-defined such as ISO 20022 “FIToFICreditTransfer”. API 151 maycommunicate with API 152 for performing transaction 122. Based on theinformation received by API 152 from Bank A, API 152 may chain to API153 to communicate with API 154 at Bank B to perform transaction 124 sothat transaction 106 between user 102 and user 104 may be completed. Bychaining APIs in this manner, FSP 120 may form the network of system 100and enable instant global interbank funds transfer via the network ofsystem 100.

As seen in FIG. 2, transfer transaction 106 may be completed in severalsteps or links through FSP 120, which may be transparent to user 102 anduser 104 as indicated by the dashed line representing transaction 106 inFIG. 2. In other words, user 102 may perceive that user 102 only needsto deal with Bank A in order to accomplish the entire transaction 106,without user 102 being aware of FSP 102 or partial transactions 122 and124. On the other hand, Bank A may display, for example, on its on-linebanking webpage that enables use of the funds transfer service, atrademark or logo of FSP 120 to indicate affiliation of the network ofsystem 100 or the funds transfer service provided by Bank A with FSP120. Such information may be displayed by Bank A for purposes of usingthe good will associated with the name of FSP 120 in encouraging trustof user 102 in system 100 and the funds transfer service provided byBank A.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of various operations of system 100 forfinancial transactions. In system 100, according to one or moreembodiments, instant bank funds transfers can be made, on behalf ofvarious users, between financial institutions, which in the example ofFIG. 3 are illustrated by banks Bank A, Bank B, and a partner bank 121of FSP 120. Users may be different users of the same or different banks,for example, or the same user may wish to transfer funds between thatuser's own accounts at different banks. As shown in FIG. 3, Bank A maybe a bilateral bank, meaning there is an established bilateralrelationship between Bank A and FSP partner bank 121. FSP partner bank121 may provide a hosting service for cash accounts, e.g., businesschecking accounts, some of which are owned by banks in the system 100,e.g., Bank A cash account 172 owned by Bank A, and some of which areowned by FSP 120, e.g., FSP cash account 182.

For example, if a user of Bank A wishes to transfer money to the user'saccount with FSP 120 (also referred to as “instant top up”), the Bank Auser may so instruct Bank A and Bank A may begin a transaction 171 fortransfer of funds using API 161 and API 162 to move funds (e.g.,transfer 185) from the user's account at Bank A to Bank A's cash account172 at FSP partner bank 121. FSP partner bank 121 may then make aninternal transfer 181 of funds between Bank A's cash account 172 and FSPcash account 182. FSP partner bank 121 may use cash accounts 172, 174,and 182, by which multiple transactions—such as transfers 181 and185—are netted to maintain an aggregate balance for each cash account.The financial institutions in system 100, e.g., Bank A and FSP partnerbank 121, may use a due to-due from accounting model for operating thenetwork of system 100. Due to-due from accounts (as opposed, e.g., totransfer accounts) generally are similar to liability accounts in thatthey appear on the Balance Sheet of year-end statements and maintain abalance at the end of the year that is carried forward to the next year.This type of account is usually used for transferring money betweencompanies. By way of contrast, transfer accounts generally are similarto expense accounts in that their balance is closed into the fundbalance account at the end of the year and they appear on the IncomeStatement. This type of account is usually used for balancingtransactions across funds.

As another example, if a user of FSP 120 wishes to transfer money fromthe user's account with FSP 120 to the account of a user (which may bethe same or a different user) of Bank B (also referred to as “instantwithdrawal”), the FSP user may so instruct FSP 120 and FSP 120 may begina transaction 173 for transfer of funds using API 164 and API 163 tomove funds (e.g., transfer 187) from the user's account at FSP 120 toBank B's cash account 174 at FSP partner bank 121. FSP partner bank 121may then make an internal transfer 183 of funds between FSP cash account182 and Bank B's cash account 174. FSP partner bank 121 may use cashaccounts 172, 174, and 182, by which multiple transactions—such astransfers 183 and 187—are netted to maintain an aggregate balance foreach cash account.

Transfers, such as those illustrated by the preceding two examples, froma user of Bank A to an account at FSP 120 and from an FSP user to anaccount at Bank B may be completed instantly because: 1) transfer 181and transfer 183 are internal funds transfers of FSP partner bank 121,2) transfer 185, occurring between Bank A and its own cash account 172with FSP partner bank 121, may be accomplished by properly crediting anddebiting the appropriate accounts via the use of API 161, API 162, andtransaction 171, and 3) transfer 187 may be accomplished, like transfer185, by properly crediting and debiting the appropriate accounts via theuse of API 164, API 163, and transaction 173, without actual movement offunds between the entities and their own cash accounts (e.g., cashaccounts 172, 174, 182) at FSP partner bank 121.

To facilitate immediate settlement of transactions (e.g., transaction106 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), each financial institution (e.g., Bank Aand Bank B) and the FSP 120 may take steps to ensure that each cashaccount in the FSP partner bank 121 maintains a large enough balance forsettlement of a few days of transactions on a total aggregate basis. Forexample, FSP 120 may make funds transfers 189, and Bank A and Bank B maymake funds transfers 185 and 187 respectively. Thus, at the end of eachday, FSP 120 may issue fund transfer instructions to FSP partner bank121; for example: “Today there is net $1,000,000.00 transaction paymentamount from Bank A cash account to FSP cash account hosted by FSPpartner bank.” Because both cash accounts are hosted by the same bank,e.g., FSP partner bank 121, the instruction is satisfied by an intrabankaccount loop transfer. An intrabank loop transfer is instant. Forexample, error reporting can take place immediately, e.g., if any cashaccount has an insufficient balance. Thus, transactions, such as fundstransfer transaction 106, may be settled immediately, e.g., do not takea number of business days to clear as with a conventional transfer madeusing, for example, SWIFTNet or ACH. System 100 may be scalable in thesense that a new bank (or financial institution) may integrated into thesystem in practicably short amount of time so that the system can growby hundreds to thousands of new financial institutions within a moderatetime horizon, for example, 100 new banks within a year rather than 1year for each new bank.

For example, integrating Bank B into system 100 may require setting upBank B's cash account 174 to be hosted by FSP partner bank 121 forfacilitating intrabank loop transfers 183. Open APIs, that is, APIsdefined by ISO rather than the FSP 120—such as ISO 20022 APIs“FIToFICreditTransfer”—may be used so that not only the FSP 120 canimplement and host appropriate APIs, but the new financial institution,e.g., Bank B for this example, can also invoke and host the appropriateAPIs; thus, API invocation is bi-directional. With such an approach,integration of a new bank, e.g., Bank B, may require only configuringpre-defined APIs, e.g., configuring API 163 and API 164 for performanceof transactions 173. Configuring the open APIs can save significantamount of product development time (e.g. up to about one year in eachcase) that would otherwise conventionally be required on the part of FSP120 on a customized basis for each new financial institution.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 for transferring funds instantly in aglobal financial network such as system 100 according to one embodiment.At step 401, a user (e.g., buyer 102) may log in to the user's accountat a financial institution (e.g., Bank A) using, for example, on-linebanking provided by Bank A. The user may choose a transaction toperform, and may provide additional choices and information as describedabove with reference to FIG. 2. For this example, the transaction isinstant top-up of the user's account with the FSP 120, e.g., the userwishes to move funds from his account with Bank A to his account withFSP 120. At the end of the day, if that transaction is the only one forBank A, that may be the only fund transfer issued to FSP partner bank121 in that case; otherwise, several transactions may be netted againsteach other and an aggregate fund transfer issued to FSP partner bank 121at the end of the day.

On day 1, in real-time, at step 402, FSP 120 may receive the credittransfer API invocation from Bank A to top up $100 (in this example, toillustrate that some specific amount of funds is chosen by the user,$100 is used as the chosen amount) of its FSP user's (e.g., buyer 102)account balance. Because the API provides instant results, the moneymovement settlement is guaranteed, FSP 120 reliance on availability offunds is safe.

Upon receipt of the instructions via the API, at step 403, FSP 120 mayuse an internal cash account (e.g., a general ledger account) which ishosted inside the instant global funds transfer network of system 100(e.g., hosted by FSP partner bank 121) to credit the $100 to the user'saccount with FSP 120 immediately (because money movement settlement isguaranteed) and then waits the standard 3 to 5 days for settlement.Because FSP 120 can credit the funds immediately (e.g., via transaction181 using, for example, intrabank loop transfers) to the user's accountwith FSP 120, FSP 120 may release the funds immediately for completionof a transaction desired by the user of Bank A (e.g., buyer 102). Forexample, FSP 120 may release funds immediately to a seller 104, who thenmay process buyer's 102 order and proceed immediately to ship goods.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 for instant account verification in aglobal financial network such as system 100 according to anotherembodiment. At step 501, a user (e.g., buyer 102) may log in to theuser's account at a financial service provider (e.g., FSP 120). For thisexample, the user may wish to set up access of the user's account at theuser's bank (e.g., Bank A) so that, for example, the user can withdrawfunds from the user's account with FSP 120 and transfer those fundsdirectly to the user's account at Bank A. Access to the user's accountat Bank A may allow FSP 120 to make such transfers by, for example,depositing money into the user's account at Bank A. In order to confirmthe information (e.g., user's account number) provided by the user, FSP120 may make, for example, two small (e.g., less than one dollar)deposits of random amounts to the user's account at Bank A using theinformation. The information may be confirmed when the user accesses theuser's account at Bank A, learns the deposit amounts, and confirms thedeposit amounts by communication with the FSP. As with instant top up,the deposit transactions may be netted with several others and anaggregate fund transfer issued to FSP partner bank 121 at the end of theday.

On day 1, in real-time, at step 502, FSP 120 may provide a deposit APIinvocation to Bank A to deposit the random amounts to its FSP user's(e.g., buyer 102) account balance. Because the API provides instantresults, the money movement settlement is guaranteed, FSP 120 relianceon availability of funds is safe. Thus, FSP 120 may rely on the randomdeposit amounts to be confirmed by the user of Bank A to match what itknows the amounts to be.

Upon receipt of the instructions via the API, at step 503, FSP partnerbank 121 may use an internal cash account (e.g., a general ledgeraccount) which is hosted inside the instant global funds transfernetwork of system 100 (e.g., hosted by FSP partner bank 121) to creditthe random deposit amounts (e.g., via transfers 181) to the user's BankA cash account 172 with FSP partner bank 121 immediately (because moneymovement settlement is guaranteed) and then waits the standard 3 to 5days for settlement. Because FSP 120 can credit the funds immediately tothe user's account with FSP 120, FSP 120 may release the fundsimmediately for the user of Bank A (e.g., buyer 102) who can thenconfirm the amounts immediately with the FSP 120 for instant bankaccount verification.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method 600 for instant direct debit in a globalfinancial network such as system 100 according to another embodiment. Atstep 601, a user (e.g., buyer 102) may log in to the user's account at afinancial service provider (e.g., FSP 120) or at the user's bank (e.g.,Bank A). For this example, the user may wish to set up direct debit ofthe user's account at the user's bank (e.g., Bank A) so that, forexample, a payee (e.g., seller 104) can withdraw (e.g., be paid directlywith) funds from the user's account at Bank A. So for example, funds maybe transferred from user's account at Bank A to the payee's account at,for example, Bank B. Upon the user's instructions, the FSP 120 mayinitiate a direct debit transaction at financial institution where theFSP 120 owns an account, e.g., FSP partner bank 121. As with instant topup, the direct debit transactions may be netted with several others andan aggregate fund transfer issued to FSP partner bank 121 at the end ofthe day.

On day 1, in real-time, at step 602, the financial institution where theuser owns an account (e.g., Bank A) may receive a debit API invocationto transfer funds from the user's account at the financial institutionto the user's account at FSP 120. So, Bank A may allow transfer of $100(in this example, to illustrate that some specific amount of funds ischosen by the user, $100 is used as the chosen amount) of the user's(e.g., buyer 102) account balance to an account at FSP partner bank 121.Because the API provides instant results, the money movement settlementis guaranteed, e.g., reliance by FSP partner bank 121 on availability offunds in Bank A cash account 172 is safe.

Upon receipt of the instructions via the API, at step 603, FSP partnerbank 121 may use internal cash accounts (e.g., a general ledger account)which are hosted inside the instant global funds transfer network ofsystem 100 (e.g., hosted by FSP partner bank 121) to credit the $100 tothe cash account 182 of FSP 120 via transaction 181 using, for example,intrabank loop transfers. Thus, money may be credited to the user's FSPaccount at FSP partner bank 121 immediately (because money movementsettlement is guaranteed) even though FSP 120 may wait the standard 3 to5 days for settlement. Because FSP 120 can credit the funds immediatelyto the user's account with FSP 120, FSP 120 may release the fundsimmediately for completion of a transaction desired by the user of BankA (e.g., buyer 102). For example, FSP 120 may release funds immediatelyto seller 104, who then may process the order of buyer 102 and proceedimmediately, for example, to ship goods to buyer 102.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method 700 for instant withdrawal in a globalfinancial network such as system 100 according to another embodiment. Inthis example, illustrative of money transfer reverse in direction to thetop-up example, the user of FSP 120 (e.g., buyer 102) may wish towithdraw funds (or take funds out) from the user's account with FSP 120to put the funds into the user's account with, for example, Bank A. Theuser would like for the funds to show up instantly on the on-linebanking web page of Bank A. At step 701, the user may log in to theuser's account at Bank A using, for example, on-line banking provided byBank A. Alternatively, at step 701, the user may log in to the user'saccount at FSP 120 using, for example, on-line services provided by FSP120. The user may choose the transaction to perform and provideadditional choices and information. As with the preceding examples, thetransaction may be netted with several others and an aggregate fundtransfer issued to FSP partner bank 121 at the end of the day.

On day 1, in real-time, at step 702, FSP 120 may issue a request via APIinvocation to Bank A to receive $100 (in this example also, toillustrate that some specific amount of funds is chosen by the user,$100 is used as the chosen amount) from its FSP user (e.g., buyer 102).Bank A may receive the request and authenticate; for example, Bank A mayconfirm that the user identified owns the account identified andindicate whether it is ready to receive the money if authentication issuccessful. Again, because the API provides instant results, the moneymovement settlement is guaranteed, Bank A reliance on availability offunds is safe.

Upon receipt of the instructions via the API, at step 703, Bank A maycredit the $100 from an internal cash account (e.g., a general ledgeraccount) which is hosted inside the instant global funds transfernetwork of system 100 (e.g., hosted by FSP partner bank 121) to creditthe $100 to the user's account with Bank A immediately (because moneymovement settlement is guaranteed) and then waits the standard 3 to 5days for settlement. Because Bank A can credit the funds immediately tothe user's account with Bank A, Bank A may release the funds immediatelyfor completion of a transaction desired by the user of Bank A (e.g.,buyer 102). For example, Bank A may release funds immediately to aseller 104, who then may process buyer's 102 order and proceedimmediately to ship goods.

In implementation of the various embodiments, embodiments of theinvention may comprise a personal computing device, such as a personalcomputer, laptop, PDA, cellular phone or other personal computing orcommunication devices. The payment provider system may comprise anetwork computing device, such as a server or a plurality of servers,computers, or processors, combined to define a computer system ornetwork to provide the payment services provided by a payment providersystem.

In this regard, a computer system may include a bus or othercommunication mechanism for communicating information, whichinterconnects subsystems and components, such as processing component(e.g., processor, micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP),etc.), system memory component (e.g., RAM), static storage component(e.g., ROM), disk drive component (e.g., magnetic or optical), networkinterface component (e.g., modem or Ethernet card), display component(e.g., CRT or LCD), input component (e.g., keyboard or keypad), and/orcursor control component (e.g., mouse or trackball). In one embodiment,disk drive component may comprise a database having one or more diskdrive components.

The computer system may perform specific operations by processor andexecuting one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained ina system memory component. Such instructions may be read into the systemmemory component from another computer readable medium, such as staticstorage component or disk drive component. In other embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions to implement the invention.

Logic may be encoded in a computer readable and executable medium, whichmay refer to any medium that participates in providing instructions tothe processor for execution. Such a medium may take many forms,including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, andtransmission media. In one embodiment, the computer readable medium isnon-transitory. In various implementations, non-volatile media includesoptical or magnetic disks, such as disk drive component, volatile mediaincludes dynamic memory, such as system memory component, andtransmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiberoptics, including wires that comprise bus. In one example, transmissionmedia may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as thosegenerated during radio wave and infrared data communications.

Some common forms of computer readable and executable media include, forexample, floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any othermagnetic medium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, papertape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, ROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer is adapted.

In various embodiments, execution of instruction sequences forpracticing the invention may be performed by a computer system. Invarious other embodiments, a plurality of computer systems coupled bycommunication link (e.g., LAN, WLAN, PTSN, or various other wired orwireless networks) may perform instruction sequences to practice theinvention in coordination with one another.

Computer system may transmit and receive messages, data, information andinstructions, including one or more programs (i.e., application code)through communication link and communication interface. Received programcode may be executed by processor as received and/or stored in diskdrive component or some other non-volatile storage component forexecution.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa.

Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as programcode and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readable andexecutable mediums. It is also contemplated that software identifiedherein may be implemented using one or more general purpose or specificpurpose computers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise.Where applicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present inventionto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. It iscontemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modifications tothe present invention, whether explicitly described or implied herein,are possible in light of the disclosure. Having thus described variousexample embodiments of the disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. Thus, the invention islimited only by the claims.

1. A system comprising: a first cash account managed by a computer at apartner bank of a financial service provider (FSP), wherein the firstcash account is owned by the FSP; a second cash account managed by acomputer at the partner bank of the FSP, wherein the second cash accountis owned by a financial institution where a user has an account; and anapplication programming interface (API) for communication of financialtransactions between the partner bank of the FSP and the financialinstitution where the user has an account, wherein a financial serviceis provided instantly to the user via the API and use of internal fundstransfers between the first cash account and the second cash account atthe partner bank.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the financialservice is an instant top up of funds to an account of the user with theFSP.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the financial service is aninstant account verification, wherein at least one deposit of a randomamount is made to the account of the user at the financial institutionwhere the user has the account.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thefinancial service is an instant direct debit from the account of theuser at the financial institution where the user has the account.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the financial service is an instantwithdrawal of funds from an account of the user with the FSP to theaccount of the user at the financial institution where the user has theaccount.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the API is a pre-defined APIdefined according to an ISO 20022 standard.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the internal funds transfers are intrabank loop transfers.
 8. Amethod comprising: maintaining a first cash account, owned by afinancial service provider (FSP), at a partner bank; maintaining asecond cash account, owned by a financial institution where a user hasan account, at the partner bank; invoking an application programminginterface (API) for communication of financial transactions between thepartner bank of the FSP and the financial institution where the user hasan account; and providing an instant financial service to the user viathe API and use of internal funds transfers between the first cashaccount and the second cash account at the partner bank.
 9. The methodof claim 8, wherein providing the instant financial service comprisesproviding an instant top up of funds to an account of the user with theFSP.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein providing the instant financialservice comprises providing an instant account verification, wherein atleast one deposit of a random amount is made to the account of the userat the financial institution where the user has the account.
 11. Themethod of claim 8, wherein providing the instant financial servicecomprises providing an instant direct debit from the account of the userat the financial institution where the user has the account.
 12. Themethod of claim 8, wherein providing the instant financial servicecomprises providing an instant withdrawal of funds from an account ofthe user with the FSP to the account of the user at the financialinstitution where the user has the account.
 13. The method of claim 8,wherein the invoking step comprises: configuring a pre-defined API forthe financial institution, wherein the pre-defined API is definedaccording to an ISO 20022 standard; and invoking the configured,pre-defined API.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the cash accountsare maintained according to due to-due from accounting.
 15. A computerprogram product comprising a computer readable medium having computerreadable and executable code for instructing a processor to perform amethod, the method comprising: maintaining a first cash account, ownedby a financial service provider (FSP), at a partner bank; maintaining asecond cash account, owned by a financial institution where a user hasan account, at the partner bank; invoking an application programminginterface (API) for communication of financial transactions between thepartner bank of the FSP and the financial institution where the user hasan account; and providing an instant financial service to the user viathe API and use of internal funds transfers between the first cashaccount and the second cash account at the partner bank.
 16. Thecomputer program product of claim 15 wherein the method furthercomprises providing an instant top up of funds to an account of the userwith the FSP.
 17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein themethod further comprises providing an instant account verification,wherein at least one deposit of a random amount is made to the accountof the user at the financial institution where the user has the account.18. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the method furthercomprises providing an instant direct debit from the account of the userat the financial institution where the user has the account.
 19. Thecomputer program product of claim 15 wherein the method furthercomprises providing an instant withdrawal of funds from an account ofthe user with the FSP to the account of the user at the financialinstitution where the user has the account.
 20. The computer programproduct of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises: configuring apre-defined API that is defined according to an ISO 20022 standard forthe financial institution; and invoking the configured, pre-defined API.